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CHRIST’S  KINGDOM  OS  KAUTll : A SELl'-HXI’AN UL\(j 
MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


A DISCOUUSI^ 


I’RESBYTEItlAN  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS; 


rUEACIIKD  IN  THE 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CUURCH,  N.  Y., 


MAY  6,  1855. 


BY  THE  REV.  STUART  ROBINSON, 

UIDISTER  OP  THE  CENTRAL  PRSSBrXERIAN  CHTJRCH,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


NEW  YORK: 

PRINTED  BY  EDAVARD  0.  JENKINS,  2G  FRANKFORT  STREE'I. 

1855. 


I 


CHRIST’S  KINGDOM  ON  EARTH:  A SELF-EXPANDING 
MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


A DISCOURSE 

FOR  Tire 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


FIRST 

PREACireD  IN  TUB 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  N.  Y., 

MAY  6,  1855. 

BY  THE  REV.  STUART  ROBINSON, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  CENTRAX  PRESBYTERIAN  CHT7RCH,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 

\ 


XEW  YORK: 

PRINTED  BY  EDWARD  0.  JENKINS,  26  FRANKFORT  STREET. 

1855. 


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CHRIST’S  KINGDOM  ON  EARTH:  A SELF-EXPANDING 
MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


FOR  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OP  FOREIGN  MISSIONS:  IN  NEW  YORK,  MAY  6,  1855. 


“ Another  parable  put  he  forth  unto  them,  saying.  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  to  a grain  of  mustard  seed, 
which  a man  took  and  sowed  in  his  field  ; 

“ Which  indeed  is  the  least  of  all  seeds  : but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greatest  among  herbs,  and  becometh  a 
ree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  come  and  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof.” — Matthew  xiii.  31,  32. 

The  one  theme  of  the  entire  series  of  parables  which  the  evangelist  here  groups 
together — as,  indeed,  of  all  the  parables  of  Jesus — is  •'  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven” — the 
new  spiritual  community  on  earth,  foretold  by  all  the  ancient  prophets,  foreshadowed  in 
the  ancient  kingdom  of  David,  until  the  sceptre  departed  from  Judah,  and  now  announced 
by  John  the  Baptist  as  at  hand.  In  these  successive  parables  are  exhibited,  as  in  the 
revolving  of  a divinely-formed  kaleidoscope,  successive  variations  of  the  same  elementary 
truths  concerning  the  kingdom,  constantly  re-arranging  themselves,  and  crystallizing 
into  new  forms  of  beauty. 

It  would  of  itself  furnish  edifying  matter  for  a discourse,  merely  to  educe  the  signifi- 
cant truths  enfolded  in  the  incidental  imagery  of  this  parable.  To  show  how  “ the  king- 
dom of  heaven”  must  be  a growth  from  remarkably  small  beginnings,  to  marvellously 
great  results;  rather  than  start  up  full  grown,  as  did  the  “ tree  whose  seed  was  in  itself,” 
at  the  bidding  of  Omnipotence,  on  the  third  day.  Or  how,  in  the  flocking  of  the  birds  of 
heaven  to  feed  upon  the  seeds  of  the  tree  and  rest  in  its  boughs,  is  shadowed  forth  the 
sustenance  and  the  refuge  which  the  kingdom  of  heaven — the  church,  with  her  ordinances 
and  discipline — offers  to  the  wandering  sinners  of  every  age.  It  would  furnish  a still  wider 
field  of  discourse  to  trace  the  logical  relations  between  the  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
in  this  parable,  and  the  ideas  in  those  which  precede  it.  To  compare  this  picture  with 
that  of  the  origin  of  the  kingdom  in  the  sowing  of  seed,  of  which  but  one  part  out  of 


DISCOUESE 


BY  REV.  STUART  ROBINSON, 


X151ST1R  or  TUI  CJENTRAL  PRE8BYTIRUN  CHCRtll,  BALTXMORK,  XO 


4 


Christ’s  kingdom  on  earth: 


four  proves  effectual ; with  the  second  picture  of  the  additional  discouragement  of  the 
tares  sown  even  among  the  efficient  fourth  part  of  the  seed  ; and  with  the  third  picture — 
more  cheering  to  faith — of  the  all-pervading  power  of  the  new  life  of  the  kingdom,  even 
though  silent  and  unseen  as  the  hid  leaven  in  its  working.  Or  again,  it  would  furnish  most 
edifying  matter  of  discourse,  to  compare  the  analogies  chosen  to  represent  the  kingdom 
in  this  parable,  with  the  similar  analogies  elsewhere  in  Scripture  ; as,  for  instance,  the  seed 
here  hid  in  the  field,  with  that  seed  to  which  Jesus  afterwards  compares  himself  when  he 
declares,  “ Except  a corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone,  but  if  it 
die  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit;” — and  thence  learn  that  this  kingdom  is  an  outgrowth, 
— an  unfolding  of  the  body  of  Jesus  himself.  Or  again,  to  compare  this  mustard  tree  with 
the  prophetic  cedar  tree  which  Ezekiel  saw  springing  from  the  shoot  cut  from  the  old 
cedar ; and  thence  learn  the  relation  between  the  new  kingdom  of  heaven  and  the  ancient 
Israel  of  God. 

Passing  over  these,  however,  I would  invite  your  attention  to  the  two  leading 
and  more  general  truths  of  the  parable,  as  eminently  appropriate  to  this  occasion  and  this 
presence.  The  one  of  these  truths  is  enfolded  in  the  common  but  significant  formula 
used  to  express  the  object  compared,  “ the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.”  The  other  is  involved  in 
the  comparison  itself,  of  this  kingdom,  in  its  outward  manifestation,  to  the  tree,  shut  up  at 
first  in  the  germinal  seed,  and  tending  ever  to  unfold  and  e.xpand  itself  by  the  necessary  law 
of  its  own  inward  life. 

It  shall  be  my  aim,  therefore,  to  set  forth  and  illustrate, 

I.  The  high  relative  importance  given  in  the  revealed  scheme  of  Redemption,  to  the 
doctrine  concerning  Christ  Jesus  as  a King — Founder  and  Head  of  a Community, — 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

II.  The  self-expansive  nature  of  that  kingdom  ; as  manifest  from  Christ’s  own  ex- 
positions of  its  nature  and  end — from  the  spirit  of  its  citizens — from  its  ordinances  and 
officers — and  from  its  constitutional  structure. 

I.  A clear  apprehension  of  this  truth,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  a King — Founder  and  Head 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  upon  earth,  is  fundamental  to  any  proper  understanding, 
either  of  the  spirit  and  language  of  the  Scriptures,  or  of  the  nature  and  relations  of  the 
Christian  life.  Through  the  whole  revealed  scheme  of  Redemption,  this  truth  runs 
parallel  with  the  truth  of  the  Priesthood  of  Christ.  Nay,  it  is  rather  the  essential  form 
of  that  truth,  and  therefore  the  essential  form  of  the  Gospel  itself.  For  “ Christ  cruci- 
fied,” according  to  the  apostle,  is  not  merely  a doctrine  contained  in  the  Gospel ; it  is  the 
Gofpel  itself ; the  one  idea  of  all  the  revelation  which  God  has  made  of  himself.  As  in 
the  physical  structure  of  man,  the  blood,  driven  by  the  heart  to  every  extremity  of  his 
system,  imparts  to  every  atom  the  vitality  without  which  it  would  be  only  so  much  dead 
clay : so  in  the  structure  of  God’s  revealed  truth.  The  Cross  of  Jesus  is  the  grand 
heart  of  the  system,  and  the  atoning  blood  flowing  from  the  cross  is  that  which  imparts 
to  every  syllable  its  divine  life  as  the  truth  of  God.  Every  other  idea  in  the  book  has  its 
life  from  this  idea;  without  this  the  other  truths  of  Scripture  may  be  fashioned,  as  men 
who  love  not  the  doctrine  of  atonement  have  fashioned  them,  into  a beautiful  system  of 
Ethical  Theology.  But  when  their  highest  skill  has  been  exhausted  upon  the  work,  it  is 
no  living  go.spel.  It  stands  forth  merely  as  the  marble  smitten  by  the  wand  of  the  genius 
of  sculpture,  beautiful  indeed  in  form  and  structure,  but  a cold  and  lifeless  thing — power- 
less to  extend  an  arm  to  save,  or  speak  a word  of  compassion  to  the  fallen  soul.  So,  on 


A SELF-EXPANDING  MISSIONAKY  SOCIETY. 


5 


the  oiher  hand,  conversely — as  the  life-beariny  blood  in  the  physical  system  inu^t  needs 
have,  as  one  of  its  conditions,  the  bodily  structure  and  form — at  once  a condition  and  a 
result  of  the  outworking  of  the  life  that  is  in  it ; in  like  manner,  in  the  system  of  Re- 
demption, the  doctrine  of  atonement  by  blood  must  ever  develop  its  life-giving  power  in 
the  formation  of  a body  of  Christ — his  Church — the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

With  this  general  view  corresponds  the  successive  developments  of  the  story  of  Re- 
demption. It  is  ever  the  story  of  an  atoning  Redeemer,  embodied  in  the  story  of  a King 
of  Glory.  The  very  first  shadowy  glimpse  of  Messiah  at  the  opening  of  Genesis,  as  the 
seed  of  the  woman,  in  the  prophetic  promise  to  the  two  trembling  sinners  in  Eden,  is  of 
a wounded  but  victorious  king,  crushing  the  head  of  the  mighty  arch-enemy  of  humanity. 
In  the  amazing  history  of  the  actual  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy,  even  as  we  behold  him  hang- 
ing on  the  cross ; there,  over  his  head  is  still  the  inscription,  “ This  is  the  King  of  the  Jews.” 
In  the  last  glimpse  we  catch  of  him  through  the  door  which  John’s  prophecy  opens  in 
heaven,  He  is  still  “ the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords “ the  Lamb  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne,”  reigning  in  triumph  over  the  myriads  of  his  redeemed.  And  so  in  every 
stage  of  the  revelation  of  God’s  purposes  of  mercy  to  the  race.  In  the  theology  of  Paul, 
the  central  truth  is  Clirist  risen  and  reigning,  “ till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his 
feet.”  The  story  of  the  evangelist  is  of  him  concerning  whom  the  wise  men  and 
Herod  inquired,  “ Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews?”  at  his  birth;  and  con- 
cerning whom  Pilate  inquired,  “ Art  thou  a King,  then  ?”  on  the  day  of  his  death.  Going 
back  to  the  revelations  of  Him  through  the  prophets,  He  appe-irs  in  every  vision  that  was 
vouchsafed  to  encourage  the  faith  of  the  saints,  as  at  once  the  atoning  Limb  that  shall  be 
led  to  the  slaughter,  but  also  as  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.  As  the  wailing  sufferer 
“ stricken  of  God,”  but  also  as  the  Holy  King  in  Zion,  who  “ sh.ill  divide  the  spoil  with 
the  strong.” 

If,  in  the  institutions  of  Moses,  Christ  the  priest  was  the  one  idea  embodied  in  all  the 
ceremonies  and  sacrifices  of  the  altar  and  the  tabernacle ; — so  the  one  idea  of  Christ  the 
King  was  embodied  in  the  very  elementary  principles  of  the  civil  and  political  constitution 
of  the  Commonwealth.  Nay,  not  only  in  all  the  prophetic  visions  and  prophetic  legisla- 
tion of  the  old  dispensation,  and  in  the  formal  theology  of  the  new,  is  this  idea  of  the 
Kingship  of  Messiah  embodied  as  a theory,  but  not  less  clearly  is  it  declared  as  an  histori- 
cal fact  in  the  actual  administration  of  the  world’s  affairs.  To  the  fact  that  Jehovah- 
Messiah  was  administering  the  typical,  as  a preparation  for  the  real  kingdom,  the  ancient 
sacred  history  attributes  all  the  wonders  and  mighty  works  which  it  records.  When 
Jehovah  walked  as  a man  with  Abraham  towards  Sodom,  it  was  Jesus  the  Mediator, 
assuming  the  form  which  in  fulness  of  time  he  was  to  wear;  symbolizing  the  union  of 
Godhood  and  humanity  which  was  to  occur  in  the  last  days.  When  the  bush  glowed  in 
the  desert,  it  was  with  the  presence  of  the  Mediatorial  King.  When  the  voice  spoke 
from  the  smoking  mount,  it  was  the  voice  of  the  King  Messiah  proclaiming  the  law, 
and  speaking  to  the  typical  kingdom  over  which  he  ruled.  On  that  mercy-seat  in  the 
Tabernacle — to  the  mere  eye  of  sense  a vacant  throne — sat  Jesus,  the  invisible  sovereign, 
and  from  thence  answered  his  loyal  subjects  when  they  came  to  inquire  of  the  Lord. 
When  visions  of  the  Almighty  fascinated  the  eye  of  the  ancient  seer ; when  a voice  from 
the  unseen  held  awake  the  ear  of  the  ancient  prophet ; when  the  bared  right  arm  of 
Omnipotence  did  many  a mighty  work  of  protection  or  of  vengeance — it  was  all  under 
the  order  and  administration  of  Jesus  the  Mediatorial  King,  carrying  on  his  preparation 


6 


Christ’s  kingdom  on  earth: 


for  setijng  up  his  true  and  permanent  kingdom.  Nay,  when  at  the  bidding  of  feeble  man, 
mighty  Nature  herself  moved  from  her  throne,  and  dropped  from  her  trembling  hand  the 
sceptre,  whilst  she  bowed  in  adoring  awe  and  rejoicing  welcome,  as  at  the  voice  of  her 
Lord  and  Maker ; — it  was  because  Jesus,  the  King  of  Zion,  spake  through  these  his  humble 
brethren,  and  thereby  prophetically  manifested  the  dignity  to  which  feeble  humanity 
was  to  be  exalted,  in  union  with  the  person  of  him  to  whom  “ all  things  were  put  in  sub- 
jection.” 

The  faith  of  Christ’s  people  can  never  loose  its  hold  on  the  great  truth  of  Jesus  as  King 
reigning  among  them,  without  an  utter  obscuring  of  the  truth  of  Jesus  as  Prophet  and 
Priest.  Inseparable  from  practical  experimental  faith  in  him  as  our  Daysman — our 
Priest  to  atone — our  Substitute  to  provide  us  a righteousness — our  Prophet  to  teach  ; 
must  be  this  truth  of  .Tesus  our  King  ever  manifest  to  our  consciousness.  For  from  this 
truth  flows  many  of  the  most  essential  truths  of  “ the  life  which  we  live  by  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God.”  To  the  eye  of  faith  the  whole  universe  unfolds  itself  in  a view 
altogether  foreign  to  the  conception  of  the  wise  and  prudent  of  this  world.  They  rightly 
enough  conceive  that  He  ‘‘  who  made  all  things  and  upholdeth  all  things  by  the  word  of 
his  power,”  is,  therefore,  by  natural  right,  Lord  of  Creation.  But  even  “ babes”  illumin- 
ed by  His  Spirit,  have  a far  more  glorious  and  clearer  conception  of  him,  as  they  behold 
the  administration  of  the  universe  in  the  hands  of  one  who  rules  not  merely  by  natural 
right,  but  as  the  “appointed  heir  of  all  things,”  and  who  is  so  appointed  on  the  ground  of 
some  mysterious  relation  to  humanity ; who,  therefore,  though  the  Son  of  God,  yet 
exercises  his  infinite  power  as  the  Son  of  3Ian  ! 

It  is  therefore  a great  practical  doctrine — that  Jesus  is  not  simply  a Redeemer  from 
sin,  but  the  Founder  and  Head  of  a Kingdom.  He  has  not  only  taught  men  a system  of 
opinions  concerning  God,  but  instituted  also,  and  rules  over,  a community.  He  hath 
given  not  simply  a precept  to  be  obeyed — a rule  for  the  government  of  life — an  opinion 
to  be  held  by  each  individual  separately — the  body  of  his  followers,  like  those  of  Socrates 
or  Plato,  combining  merely  by  accidental  agreement  in  opinion  : far  beyond  all  this.  He 
hath  constructed  a Society ; his  followers  are  made  members  of  a community  with  new 
social  relations.  To  believe  in  Jesus  is  not  merely  the  adoption  of  an  opinion.  The 
very  act  of  faith  whereby  his  followers  receive  his  doctrine,  unites  them  also  to  Him  as 
members  of  his  mystical  body,  and  through  Him  to  one  another.  They  become  a combi- 
nation of  men  who  are  members  of  one  spiritual  body — brethren  of  one  holy  family 
And  this  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

II.  We  proceed  next  to  consider  what  the  parable  teaches  concerning  the  nature  of 
this  Kingdom;  namely,  that,  by  the  very  law  of  its  being,  the  natural  outworking  of  its 
life  is  in  perpetual  self-expansion. 

In  every  investigation  into  the  genius  and  spirit  of  a government,  we  naturally  look  first, 
if  there  be  such,  for  some  exposition  of  its  constitution  by  the  author  or  authors  thereof. 
So,  in  this  inquiry  concerning  a fundamental  law  of  Christ’s  kingdom,  we  turn  naturally 
first  to  his  own  expositions.  And  we  shall  find  abundant  sources  of  information  on  this 
head.  For  the  exposition  of  the  nature  and  laws  of  his  kingdom  may  be  said  to  be  the 
chief  burden  of  his  discourses. 

Among  these  we  naturally  turn  first  to  the  Parables;  for  they  may  be  termed  emphat- 
ically, Christ’s  discourses  on  the  constitution  of  his  kingdom.  In  more  than  one  respect 
they  are  analogous  to  the  disquisitions  in  the  papers  of  the  “ Federalist”  on  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  American  Republic.  For  the  parables  are  simply  discourses  in  that  form 


A SELF-EXPANDING  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


7 


touching  the  nature,  the  spirit,  the  agencies,  and  the  aims,  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Such,  as  already  observed,  is  the  purport  of  the  six  parables  with  which  the  text  slands 
connected.  They  describe  the  origin,  the  agencies,  the  discouragements,  the  encourage- 
ments, the  priceless  value  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Another  class  of  them — as  the  para- 
bles of  The  Publican,  the  Unmerciful  Servant,  the  Two  Debtors,— describe  the  spirit  which 
must  characterize  the  citizens  of  the  kingdom,  viz. : humility,  love,  the  loyalty  that  flows 
from  generous  forgiveness,  and  which  works  out  a spirit  of  forgiveness.  Still  another 
class,  as  the  parables  of  the  Two  Sons — The  Laborers  in  the  Vineyard  (by  the  very  similes 
chosen) — the  Great  Supper — the  Marriage  of  the  King’s  Son — The  Talents — The  Pounds 
— The  Good  Samaritan  set  forth  the  outworking  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  kingdom  in  acts 
of  service  ; carrying  out  the  King’s  purposes  of  love  towards  the  outcast  and  ignorant,  the 
poor  and  the  suffering — the  doing  of  good  to  man  as  man — both  by  personal  labor  and 
the  devotion  of  treasures  to  the  building  up  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  relief  of  its  citi- 
zens. Another  class,  again,  as  the  parables  of  the  Widow  and  the  Judge — the  Neighbor  at 
Midnight — exhibit  the  supports  to  faith  when  laboring  under  discouragement,  and  hoping 
against  hope.  Whilst  the  parables  of  the  Lost  Sheep,  the  Lost  Piece  of  Money,  and  the 
Prodigal  Son,  present  the  most  glorious  encouragements  to  work ; — in  the  dignity  and 
grandeur  of  the  results  of  that  work,  according  to  the  estimate  of  God  and  all  holy 
beings.  And  once  more,  another  class  are  of  terrible  warning  to  all  despisers  of  the 
great  law  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  great  purpose  of  its  establishment.  Thus,  the  parable 
of  the  Unjust  Steward,  inculcating  the  lesson,  that  even  reasoning  on  principles  of  worldly 
expediency,  the  citizens  of  the  kingdom  should  not  be  niggardly  of  their  wealth.  So  the 
parables  of  the  Barren  Fig  Tree,  pointing  out  the  doom  of  a mere  fair  show  without  fruit, 
of  the  Rich  Man  clothed  in  purple,  and  of  the  Rich  Barn-builder,  warning  of  the  penalty  of 
selfish  disloyalty  and  covetousness.  Whilst  the  parable  of  the  Virgins  gives  solemn  warn- 
ing that  all  are  under  the  rule  of  a King  who  may  call  at  any  moment  for  the  rendering 
of  an  account.  Thus  the  whole  teaching  of  these  wonderful  forms  of  human  thought  is 
all  to  one  and  the  same  point,  namely — the  relation  which  all  who  receive  the  Gospel  bear 
to  Jesus  as  King  and  Ruler  of  a community  organized  to  carry  out  his  beneficent  pur- 
poses— animated  by  his  spirit — and  manifesting  their  fealty  to  him  by  laboring  to  expand 
his  dominions.  While  right  emotions  of  heart  ;--penitence  for  sin — love  to  God  and  man, 
are,  indeed,  the  inner  life,  these  must  work  themselves  out  in  acts  of  beneficence  like 
the  King’s — in  the  consecration  of  life  and  substance  to  the  King’s  service  in  his  conquest 
of  the  world. 

This  same  idea  is  still  more  distinctly  set  forth  in  the  great  discourse  of  Judgment 
which  follows  the  parables  of  the  Talents  and  of  the  Virgins ; and  which,  indeed,  may  itself 
be  called  the  prophetic  ‘‘Parable  of  the  Judgment — wherein  he  presents  the  trial  of  the 
great  issues  of  human  existence  at  one  infinite  assize  of  all  nations.  Not  only  is  it  “the 
King”  that  sits  upon  the  judgment-seat ; but  all  the  acts  that  pass  under  review  are  con- 
sidered simply  in  their  relation  as  done  or  not  done  “ unto  me” — the  King.  For  the  six 
acts  of  kindness  and  charity  enumerated,  and  made  the  test  on  which  the  awful  issue 
turns,  are  by  no  means  acts  having  in  themselves  some  intrinsic  virtue  to  constitute  a 
merit — as  cold  legalism  supposes.  They  have  their  value  simply  as  a test  of  evangelical 
obedience.  They  are  applauded  not  simply  for  doing  the  charities,  but  for  doing  them 
as  unto  Christ  And  besides,  there  is  immense  significancy  in  the  peculiar  form  of 
this  test  of  discipleship,  which  is  to  apply  to  all  nations  and  all  ages  of  men.  At  first 
view,  even  after  we  have  discovered  that  it  is  something  more  than  what  mere  legalism 


8 


Christ’s  kingdom  on  earth; 


supposes, — even  an  evangelical  heart-trying  test — we  must  still  perceive  that,  as  a test  of 
universal  judgment,  it  is  very  peculiar  in  making  the  heart-test  take  this  specific  form 
of  acts  of  kindness  and  charity  to  Chriit’s  suffering  disciples.  Since,  however,  that  form 
might  seem  a very  practical  one  in  an  age  of  persecution,  when  it  is  all  one’s  life  is  worth 
to  confess  Christ,  or  to  sympathize  with  those  who  confess  him  ; — and  therefore  the  readi- 
ness either  to  suffer  loss  of  all  things,  or  to  relieve  those  who  thus  suffer,  would  be  the 
very  clearest  proof  of  one’s  sincere  faith — still  we  feel  disposed  to  ask,  are  the  favored 
ages  of  the  Church,  when  even  her  enemies  seem  at  peace  with  her,  to  be  left  without 
any  practical  means  of  testing  the  sincerity  of  faith?  Now  when  we  come  to  examine 
into  the  meaning  of  this  peculiar  form,  we  find  that  so  far  from  having  exclusive  or  even 
special  reference  to  a suffering  and  persecuted  kingdom,  in  the  discourse  of  which  this 
judgment  scene  forms  the  practical  conclusion,  he  had  reference  rather  to  a working 
kingdom,  whose  citizens  had  talents  committed  to  them  to  be  invested  and  accounted  for.  The 
meaning  of  the  whole  thing  clearly  must  be,  therefore,  that  the  relation  of  every  man  to  Jesus 
as  King  is  the  great  question  on  which  the  issues  of  eternal  judgment  shall  turn.  Hence 
men  shall  be  required  to  exhiuit  evidence  of  that  relation  by  faith  in  him — the  sincerity  of 
that  faith  evidenced  by  deeds  of  loyalty  to  him,  in  aiding  to  carry  on  the  enterprise  which 
the  King  has  at  heart — namely,  the  relief  of  the  wretchedness  which  sin  has  produced — 
and  then  these  deeds  tried  by  the  amount  of  sacrifice  we  were  willing  to  make  in  doing 
them.  In  this  view  of  it,  Christ’s  judgment-test  is  just  the  form  of  test  to  try  the  loyalty 
of  a kingdom  that  now  must  suffer  and  now  triumph.  In  the  age  of  suffering  and  perse- 
cution, the  loyalty  of  which  this  is  the  test  makes  men  martyrs  ; in  the  age  of  triumph 
and  outward  prosperity,  this  same  loyalty  makes  men  propagandists. 

Or,  if  we  turn  now  to  another  of  the  most  significant  of  Christ’s  teachings — the  prayer 
which  he  puts  into  the  mouth  of  every  man  who  is  Christian  enough  to  pray,  we  dis- 
cover the  same  principle.  The  very  structure  of  what  is  called  the  Lord’s  Prayer  brings  out 
most  prominently  this  idea  of  the  relation  to  Christ  as  King,  as  a first  impulse  and  instinct 
of  a Christian  soul.  The  natural  selfishness  of  the  human  heart — even  if  under  the  im- 
pulse of  helplessness  and  dependence  it  be  driven  to  pray — would  surely  make  the  first 
cry  to  God  a cry  for  daily  bread  and  deliverance  from  evil.  But  Jesus  teaches  first  to 
pray,  “ Thy  kingdom  come.”  And  once  we  have  the  key  furnished  for  the  interpretation 
of  this  prayer,  in  this  relation  of  Christ  as  King  to  his  people,  we  shall  see  that  this  ar- 
rangement of  the  petition  is  no  mere  ingenious  expedient  to  force  his  people  to  hold  their 
selfishness  in  check,  and  teach  them  first  to  pray  for  others  and  then  for  self ; but  this  is 
the  natural  order  in  which  the  desires  of  a truly  believing  soul  spontaneously  arise.  Just 
as,  in  general,  all  true  prayer  has  one  of  its  cliiefgrounds  and  reasons  in  a spontaneous  im- 
pulse of  the  soul  to  cry  to  God,  so  this  specific  prayer,  “ Thy  kingdom  come,”  has  its  chief 
ground  and  reason  in  the  spontaneous  impulse  of  the  believer  to  cry  for  the  coming  of  his 
kingdom.  As  when  the  scoffer  would  puzzle  him  with  the  que.stion,  “ Why  needful  to 
pray  at  all,  since,  according  to  your  creed,  God  knows  what  you  have  need  of,  and  is  more 
ready  to  grant  than  you  to  ask  ?” — the  believer’s  answer  in  part  is,  “ Your  cavil  is  founded 
on  the  total  misconception  that  we  pray  merely  for  the  selfish  purpose  of  obtaining  things 
needful  to  our  comfort.  But  aside  from  such  reason,  we  pray  because,  being  His  children, 
we  feel  like  praying,  as  expressive  of  the  communion  between  us  and  otir  Father.  Prayer 
is  the  spontaneous  impulse,  ‘ the  vital  breath,’ of  a believing  soul.”  So  in  like  manner 
with  this  specific  petition,  “ Thy  kingdom  come.”  When  the  scoffer  asks,  “ Why  pray  so 


A SELF-EXPANDING  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


9 


absurd  a prayer  ? Can  the  wildest  enthusiasm  ever  hope  to  see  this  kingdom  established 
among  besotted  heathen  ?'’  The  believer’s  answer  again  is,  “ The  cavil  is  founded  on  a 
misconception.  The  ground  and  reason  of  our  praying  thus  is  not  merely  tliat  we  expect 
thereby  to  get  the  kingdom  established  among  the  heathen.  But  aside  from  this  reason — 
nay,  aside  even  from  tho  command  laid  upon  us  to  pray  thus — we  pray  this  prayer  because 
we  feel  like  praying  it;  yea,  we  pray  this  first  because  it  lies  uppermost.  The  loyalty  of 
our  hearts,  as  citizens  of  this  kingdom,  spontaneously  gives  vent  to  itself,  in  crying  ‘ Thy 
kingdom  come’ — * Thine  is  the  kingdom,  the  Power,  and  the  Glory  !’” 

This  principle  of  his  people  as  a community,  and  Christ  their  King,  underlies  the  direc- 
tion of  Jesus  and  his  promise  concerning  social  prayer — “ When  two  or  three  are  gathered 
in  my  name,”  &c.  His  disciples  are  taught  to  pray  in  secret ; but,  at  the  same  time,  he 
gives  a special  assurance  of  his  presence  when  thus  gathered  together — and  when  they 
“ agree  as  touching  what  they  shall  ask.”  This  meeting  together  is  a recognition  of  their 
relation  to  each  other  as  citizens,  and  to  him  as  King.  Even  though  it  be  a mere  quorum  of 
“ two  or  three,” — the  gathering  shall  be  officially  recognized  as  giving  expression  to  the 
will  of  the  citizens  of  the  kingdom  as  such.  For  just  as  in  that  ancient  kingdom  of  Israel 
which  foreshadowed  this  kingdom  of  heaven,  whilst  Jehovah  was  sovereign  of  the  Kingdom 
yet  he  was  pleased  to  rule  by  the  voice  of  the  people  ; to  give  counsel  when  they  assem- 
b’ed  in  solemn  form  to  **  inquire  of  the  Lord,”  and  to  use  as  his  agents  for  protecting  the 
Kingdom  those  whom  not  only  he  designated,  but  whom,  also,  the  people  by  their  election 
called — so  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  the  sovereign  chooses  to  rule  according  to  the 
will  of  the  citizens,  and  therefore  gives  special  assurance  of  his  presence  to  give  counsel 
and  to  bless  the  means,  when  the  people  in  solemn  assembly  agree,  as  touching  what  they 
shall  ask  of  him. 

It  is  this  same  truth  which  gives  its  peculiar  force  to  the  Apostolic  commission 
and  the  promise — Lo I am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.” 
That  commission  is  expressly  grounded  upon  an  antecedent  truth — even  this  same 
relation  between  them  and  him  as  Mediatorial  King.  The  ground  upon  which  he 
sends  them  forth  is  not  simply  his  natural  omnipotence  as  God  to  protect  them,  but  the 
power  delegated  to  him — “ given  to  him” — as  mediator,  to  administer  a kingdom.  He 
says  not,  “All  power  is  mine  as  God  ; therefore  go,  for  I can  protect but,  “All  power  is 
given  me ; go  ye  therefore,  teach  the  nations  their  relation  to  me  as  Mediatorial  King,  and 
admit  them  by  baptism — naturalize  them  citizens  of  my  kingdom.”  So  that,  by  the  very 
terms  of  the  charter  under  which  the  apostles  proceeded  to  organize  fully  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven — even  his  Church — these  two  great  truths  stand  forth  as  its  fundamental  princi- 
ples— that  the  foundation  of  the  organization  is  Jesus,  the  Mediatorial  King;  and  that  the 
end  and  aim  of  the  Kingdom  is  universal  conquest.  And  when  we  come  now  to  study 
the  structure  of  his  Church  under  this  charter,  every  element  of  its  organization  is  in 
accordance  with  these  expositions  of  its  nature  and  end. 

In  every  organization  of  society  among  men,  whatever  be  its  form — commonwealth, 
kingdom,  or  empire ; — whatever  its  extent — whether  some  one  specific  community,  or  a 
whole  race  of  men  developing  some  peculiar  form  of  civilization — we  find  commonly  one 
great  idea  embodied  in  the  structure,  and  one  corresponding  great  end  to  which  promi- 
nence is  given  in  outworkings  of  the  system.  In  the  modern  phrase,  each  such  great 
community  among  men  has  a peculiar  misau/n.  Thus,  Lycurgus  undertook  to  organize 
a community  upon  the  theory  of  war  as  the  natural  state  of  a country.  Accordingly,  the 
whole  structure  of  the  Spartan  Constitution,  as  well  as  the  whole  outworking  of  the 


10 


Christ’s  kingdom  on  earth  : 

Constitution  in  subsequent  legislative  enactments,  looked  to  the  one  great  purpose  of 
training  a nation  of  soldiers.  So,  in  a still  more  general  form  of  this  truth,  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  civilization.  Whatever  specific  form  of  government  it  adopts,  has  also  its  one 
great  idea,  to  wit,  the  personal  liberty  of  the  citizen  individually,  as  distinct  from  the 
liberty  of  the  nation ; — a nation  of  free  men,  rather  than  a free  nation.  To  this  one 
idea  all  its  peculiar  legislative  enactments — its  Habeas  Corpus  Acts — its  trial  by  jury, 
have  especial  reference.  Now,  in  like  manner,  also,  in  this  community,  the  Church  which 
Jesus  Christ  has  organized.  Its  one  great  idea  is  that  set  forth  in  this  text — perpetual 
expansion.  As  it  was  the  great  aim  of  Lycurgus  to  educate  and  organize  a nation  of 
soldiers,  so  it  is  the  great  purpose  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  Kingdom  which  he  hath  founded 
to  educate  and  organize  an  empire  of  propagandists. 

This  purpose  is  manifest,  in  the  first  place,  from  the  spirit  which  he  imparts  to  every 
citizen  of  his  Kingdom,  in  the  very  act  of  naturalization  by  which  they  become  such.  It 
is  the  inevitable  consequence  of  a true  receiving  of  Christ  by  faith,  tliat  such  believer 
shall  feel  an  irrepressible  desire  to  have  others  receive  Christ  as  King  also.  No  sooner 
shall  the  thirsty  soul,  hearing  the  invitation,  come  and  refresh  himself  at  the  fountain  of 
salvation,  than  he  that  heareth  “ shall  say.  Come.”  The  penitent  who  has  faith  enough 
even  to  cry  “ Restore  unto  me  the  joys  of  thy  salvation,”  shall  also  cry,  Then  will  I teach 
transgressors  thy  way,  and  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  thee.”  The  soul  delivered  by 
adorable  grace  from  death  to  begin  its  new  song, 

“Why  was  I made  to  hear  thy  voice, 

And  enter  while  there’s  room  ?” 

shall  not  fail,  ere  the  song  is  finished,  to  sing  also — 

“ Pity  tlie  nations,  0 my  God, 

Constrain  the  earth  to  come.” 

If  once  his  soul  is  enabled  to  say, 

“ Jesus  ail  the  day  long 
Is  my  joy  and  my  song. 

And  salvation  through  faith  in  his  name 

that  soul  shall  not  fail  to  wish  also, 

“ 0 that  all  would  believe. 

And  salvation  receive, 

And  their  song  and  their  joy  he  the  same.” 

Yea,  just  as  surely  as  the  mustard  seed  planted  in  the  field  shall,  by  the  law  of  its  nature, 
develop  its  tendency  to  unfold  and  expand  into  a tree,  so  surely  shall  the  renewed  soul 
evince  this  desire  for  the  expansion  of  Christ’s  Kingdom. 

Now,  as  we  find  the  public  spirit  of  the  citizens  of  this  Kingdom  remarkably  accordant 
with  the  expositions  of  its  nature  and  purpose  furnished  by  the  Founder  of  the  Kingdom, 
so  we  find  all  the  ordinances  and  provisions  for  the  outworking  of  the  spirit  of  the  Kingdom. 
As  by  the  act  of  faith  this  spirit  of  enlargement  is  aroused  in  the  soul,  so  the  means  of  devel- 
oping that  spirit  are  provided  for  by  the  ordinance  of  worship.  For  he  has  appointed  that, 
when  they  come  together  for  his  worship,  to  learn  his  will,  and  claim  the  fulfilment  of  his 
promise  to  be  present  with  them,  to  guide  them  with  his  counsel  and  strengthen  them  by 
his  grace, — they  shall  give  outward  expression  at  once  to  their  gratitude,  and  their  fellow- 
ship with  him  and  all  his  kingdom,  by  acts  of  consecration  of  their  substance  to  the  uses 
of  the  kingdom.  They  who  “ continue  in  the  Apostles’  doctrine,’’  learning  more  and  more 


A SELF-EXPANDING  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


11 


of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  growing  in  knowledge  that  they  may  grow  in  grace,  shall  at 
the  same  time  cultivate  the  feeling  that  they  are  in  “ fellowship”  with  the  Apostles,  and 
with  all  Christ’s  people.  As  in  the  other  ordinances  of  his  worship  provision  is  made  for 
giving  outward  expression  to  the  inward  emotions  of  the  soul  towards  Christ  as  the  de- 
liverer from  sin,  and  thereby  cultivating  and  strengthening  these  emotions,  so  also  pro- 
vision is  made  in  this  ordinance  of  “ the  fellowship”  for  giving  outward  expression  to  the 
inward  consciousness  of  the  soul,  of  its  relation  through  Christ  to  all  that  are  Christ’s. 
No  law  of  tithes  is  ordained  in  the  new  Kingdom;  no  demand  is  made  of  any  specific 
amount.  His  call  is  simply  for  the  free-will  oflTerings  of  each,  as  the  exponent  at  once  of 
the  soul’s  consciousness  of  indebtedness  “to  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who, 
though  he  was  rich,  became  poor”  for  its  sake — and  also  of  the  soul’s  consciousness  of 
fellowship  or  communion  with  Christ’s  great  community  on  earth.  These  are  all  that  he 
requires  or  will  receive  from  his  people.  And  the  ofTering  shall  be  acceptable  just  as  it 
is  the  true  expression  of  the  soul’s  sense  of  relation  to  Christ  and  his  people,  irrespective 
of  its  intrinsic  value.  The  mite  of  the  poor  widow — ‘‘  all  that  she  had’’ — is  a nobler  ex- 
pression of  heroic  devotion,  in  the  King’s  estimate,  and  worthy  of  more  praise,  than  all  the 
splendor  of  the  temple.  If  it  be  the  gift  of  some  Mary  who  comes  to  give  vent  to  the 
emotions  of  gratitude  for  a brother  restored  from  the  grave,  that  fill  her  heart  to  bursting 
— in  the  offering  of  her  beautiful  alabaster  vase,  the  darling  trinket  of  her  maidenly 
pride — that  gift  shall  not  fail  to  touch  the  heart  of  the  generous  King.  If  it  be  the  self- 
forgetting  offerings  of  his  penteco-(tal  church, — even  all  their  possessions  laid  at  the  feet  of 
his  ministers  as  the  expression  of  their  loving  interest  for  their  Master’s  cause,  and  their 
fellowship  for  all  his  suffering  poor, — it  shall  be  a blessed  offering.  If  time  and  occasion 
served,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  from  the  history  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  and  es- 
pecially from  the  communications  of  the  Apostles  to  the  Church,  that  this  expression  of 
the  fellowship  (Kdivovia)  of  saints  by  contributions  for  the  poor,  and  other  pious  uses> 
was  recognized  and  enjoined  as  an  ordinance  of  worship,  to  be  performed  with  the  other  acts 
of  public  worship,  when  thus  gathered  together  in  his  name,  according  to  his  appointment. 

From  what  has  been  already  said  touching  the  meaning  of  this  provision  itself  for  meet- 
ing together  of  the  people  for  a common  approach  to  God,  it  is  manifest  that  such  contri- 
butions for  the  purposes  of  the  Kingdom,  on  such  an  occasion,  are  peculiarly  appropriate, 
as  the  expression  of  the  communion  of  those  who  meet  thus  as  citizens  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ.  It  is  one  of  the  very  discouraging  signs  of  the  times — not  only  in  its  bearing 
upon  the  work  of  Missions  directly,  but  upon  the  piety  of  the  Church  at  home — that 
in  so  great  measure  the  “ collection  for  the  poor’’  seems  to  have  fallen  out  of  sight 
in  the  churches.  That  the  expression  of  the  fellowship  seems  no  longer  to  be  held 
obligatory  as  of  faith ; and  the  contribution,  even  when  made,  is  made  rather  as  a 
mere  ecclesiastical  measure,  and  on  the  ground  of  general  philanthropy,  than  done  as  an 
act  of  worship  in  obedience  to  a Divine  ordinance.  Nay,  that  we  hear  not  unfrequently 
expressions  of  dislike  to  the  collection  — even,  indeed,  scruples  as  to  the  fitness  of 
an  ordinance  for  the  Sabbath  worship  which  disturbs  the  sacredness  of  the  day  and  the 
place — as  they  tell  us — with  the  jingle  of  money  in  the  house  of  God.  It  is  surely  not  a 
favorable  evidence  for  piety,  when  Christ-appointed  ordinances  are  not  deemed  holy 
enough  for  his  house.  One  is  led  to  fear,  that  in  such  cases  it  must  be  that  the  associa- 
tions of  ideas  on  the  subject  of  money,  arising  out  of  the  transactions  of  the  week,  may 
somehow  be  unpleasant  to  the  conscience.  Whether  the  contribution  for  pious  uses  is 
of  the  nature  of  worship,  can  hardly  be  considered  an  open  question  in  our  branch  of  the 


12 


CHRISTS  KINGDOM  ON  EARTH: 


Church.  It  is  such  according  to  any  clear  and  consistent  interpretation  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  such  according  to  the  interpretation  actually  put  upon  the  Scriptures 
by  the  Reformed  Church,  and  especially  by  our  standards.  As  the  desire  for  the  expan- 
sion of  his  kingdom  is  spontaneous  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  so  in  this  ordinance  provision 
is  made  of  the  means,  in  so  far,  for  executing  that  desire  ; and  in  the  natural  and  unim- 
peded outworking  of  the  Church,  the  degree  of  provision  thus  made  would  become  one  of 
the  most  perfect  measures  of  the  Church’s  piety. 

It  is  necessary  merely  to  allude  to  the  fact,  that  in  accordance  again  with  this  public 
spirit  and  this  ordinance  of  worship,  is  the  provision  for  the  administration  of  the  Church. 
That  in  addition  to  ministers  who  labor  in  word  and  doctrine,  “some  pastors”  and  “some 
evangelists,”  (but  both  alike  laboring  to  spread  the  truth,)  and  elders  to  rule — provision  is 
made  of  a peculiar  class  of  officers  for  the  special  care  and  administration  of  his  revenues, 
which  flow  thus  from  the  active  faith  of  the  worshippers,  that  they  may  accomplish  best 
the  purpose  for  which  they  are  raised,  namely : the  expansion  of  the  Church.  That 
through  the  several  courts,  up  to  that  which  stands  forth  the  representative  at  once  of  the 
will  of  the  people  of  the  Kingdom  and  the  unity  of  the  people,  full  provision  is  made  of 
every  agency  needful  to  give  efficiency  to  the  desire  of  the  people  for  the  expansion,  and 
to  the  means  provided  for  the  expansion  of  the  Church. 

Thus,  in  perhaps  a much  profounder  sense  than  that  in  which  it  is  often  understood,  is 
the  proposition  true — “ The  Church  is  a Missionary  Society.”  Such,  not  by  virtue  of  so 
resolving  herself  to  be,  but  by  her  organic  law,  by  the  spirit  of  her  members,  by  the  nature 
of  her  ordinances,  by  the  structure  of  her  government.  And  just  in  so  far  as,  in  the  structure 
and  administration  of  any  organized  form  of  the  Church,  there  is  manifest  adaptation  to 
this  great  end  of  self-expansion,  just  in  so  far  does  such  organization  evince  a conformity  to 
the  model  of  the  Church  organized  by  the  Apostles.  On  the  other  hand,  just  in  so  far  as 
any  such  organization  is  found  wanting  in  the  agencies  needful  for  the  Missionary  work, 
and  compelled  to  seek  outlet  for  the  spirit  of  the  people  through  supplementary  agencies, 
or  agencies  without  the  pale  of  the  organization  itself, — just  in  that  far  does  it  lack  one 
of  the  essential  elements  of  the  Apostolic  Church.  As  the  Missionary  spirit,  in  some  form 
or  other,  is  one  of  the  essential  marks  of  a true  Gospel  faith  in  the  individual  believer,  so 
the  having  the  agencies  needful  to  carry  into  full  effect  the  Missionary  spirit  of  the  people 
is  one  of  the  essential  marks  of  the  true  Gospel  Church. 

There  is  room  for  only  one  or  two  of  the  many  suggestions,  by  way  of  practical  infer- 
ence, from  what  has  been  said,  which  here  crowd  upon  us: 

1.  The  real  prosperity  and  efficiency  of  the  Church  must  obviously  be  just  in  proportion 
as  these  truths  concerning  the  nature  and  end  of  the  Church  are  clearly  apprehended  by 
the  faith  of  her  people,  and  their  power  manifested  in  her  external  life.  Only  while  the 
Church  feels  this  work  of  self-expansion  to  be  the  great  purpose  of  her  existence,  can  she 
be  expected  to  continue  pure  and  eflicient.  Failing  to  accomplish  this  end  of  her  organ- 
ization, she  fails  in  fulfilling  the  condition  upon  which  the  special  presence  of  the  Great 
King  is  promised.  For  it  is  in  connection  with  the  command — “ Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,”  that  he  makes  the  promise — “ Lo,  1 am  with  you 
always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.”  Failing  of  his  presence,  her  ordinances  become 
cold,  formal,  and  barren;  her  barren  ordinances  the  means  of  her  speedy  corruption  of 
doctrine;  her  corruptions  of  doctrine  the  cause  of  spiritual  decay  and  internal  dissensions, 
that  shall  speedily  leave  her  to  the  mockery  and  scorn  of  her  enemies. 

2.  The  work  of  Missions  is  not  simply  a measure  of  expediency  devised  by  the  wisdom 


A SELF-EXPANDING  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


13 


and  piety  of  the  Church  in  this  or  any  other  age  of  peculiar  activity.  It  is  the  divinely 
appointed  work  which  the  Church  has  been  organized  to  do.  The  doctrine  of  Missions  is 
of  faith,  nol  of  opinion.  The  cause  of  Missions  addresses- itself  not  to  the  benevolent 
sympathies  merely,  but  to  the  conscience  and  faith  of  (lod’s  people.  The  most  efficient 
means,  therefore,  of  arousing  the  Church  and  keeping  the  Church  awake  to  her  duty  in 
this  regard,  are  not  ingeniously-devised  appliances  for  rousing  the  philanthropic  sympathies 
of  the  people,  and  for  reaching  the  treasures  which  their  covetousness  has  hoarded  away  ; 
but  the  .simple  exposition  of  the  great  truth  of  God  relating  to  this  work,  for  the  enlighten- 
ment of  their  understandings  and  consciences  : thereby  awakenitig  emotions  of  love  for 
Jesus  and  his  can.se  in  their  hearts,  that  will  impel  them  to  a con.secration  of  themselves 
and  their  substance  to  his  service.  In  this,  as  in  every  case,  the  simple  truth  of  God, 
apprehended  by  the  understanding  and  present  to  the  consciouness  of  the  soul,  is  the 
means  which  the  Spirit  uses  for  giving  energy  to,  as  well  as  for  awakening  the  spiritual 
affections  in,  the  heart.  And  so  in  regard  to  the  revival  of  a spirit  for  this  work  in  the 
Church  at  large.  The  truth  of  God  is  the  agency  which  the  Spirit  will  honor.  It  is  not 
enough  to  devise  wise  expedients  and  machinery  for  this  work — even  though  scriptural 
machinery,  and  then,  folding  our  hands,  sit  in  silence,  waiting  for  the  Spirit  to  come  and 
stir  up  the  people  to  work  with  the  machinery.  We  must  expound  the  truth — not  our 
truth,  but  the  truth  of  God — relating  to  the  nature,  the  obligations,  and  the  means  of  accom- 
plishing the  work  ; and  cry  earnestly  to  the  Holy  Spirit  to  give  our  teachings  efficiency, 
in  enlightening  the  undeistandings  and  enlarging  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

3.  Applying  these  views  to  the  history  of  our  own  Church  in  years  past,  we  shall  find 
much  to  mourn  over — but,  blessed  be  God .'  much  also  to  rejoice  over.  Cause  for  mourning 
in  that  so  large  a portion  of  the  Church  is  apparently  even  yet  profoundly  asleep  on  this 
subject;  manifesting  no  signs  of  any  consciousness  of  obligation  to  engage  in  this  great 
work.  Cause  for  mourning,  that  another  portion  of  the  Church,  though  apparently 
aroused,  and  putting  forth  some  feeble  effort  in  the  work,  is  yet  manifestly  not  truly  awake 
to  its  high  nature  as  the  great  work  of  the  Church,  and  to  the  true  ground  of  obligation 
to  execute  it.  Cause  for  mourning,  that  as  once  more  the  whole  world  is  thrown  open  as 
the  field  for  the  (lurches,  and  the  cry  from  millions  is — *•  Come  over  and  help  us,’’  so 
little  can  be  done  in  sending  forth  laborers  into  the  mighty  field  white  to  the  harvest. 

But  there  is  cause  for  rejoicing  also.  Rejoicing  that  God  hath  been  moving  the  hearts 
of  his  people  more  and  more  to  engage  in  this  work.  That  as  they  have  engaged  in  it, 
their  views  of  its  obligation  upon  them  have  become  clearer,  and  their  views  of  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Church,  as  such,  to  the  work  have  become  clearer.  That  God  hath  so  mani- 
festly smiled  upon  even  the  inadequate  efforts  of  our  Church.  That  her  faith  has  become 
stronger  to  struggle  with  the  difficulties  that  oppose  the  work.  That  wisdom  has  been 
vouchsafed  to  those  who  have  been  specially  charged  with  the  work,  to  administer  in  such 
a degree  skilfully,  prudently,  and  in  a manner  to  command  the  confidence  of  his  people. 
Yea,  that  those  have  been  raised  up  in  the  Church  patient  enough  to  bear  the  toil,  and 
persevering  enough  to  struggle  with  the  difficulties  that  beset  its  administration  in  a 
church  but  yet  half  aroused  to  its  solemn  importance.  That  from  the  first  assumption  by  our 
Church  of  her  obligations  as  such  formally  to  be  in  herself  a Missionary  Society,  so  much 
unity  of  action,  unity  of  purpose,  and  mutual  confidence  have  characterized  her  efforts  in 
this  work. 

And  we  have  reason  to  rejoice,  in  view  of  far  more  glorious  prospects  yet  before  our 
branch  of  the  Church  in  the  future.  With  an  organization  in  all  its  details  thoroughly 


14 


CHRISTS  KINGDOM  ON  EARTH,  ETC. 


missionary;  in  a country  whose  national  spirit  and  government  is  thoroughly  in  sympa- 
thy with  hers;  untrammelled  by  any  alliances  with,  or  hinderances  from,  the  State;  hemmed 
in  by  no  barriers.of  national  prejudice ; hedged  out  from  the  nations  of  the  earth  by  no  Chi- 
nese walls  of  separation ; — everything  in  her  circumstances  and  position  is  more  favora- 
ble to  a noble  experiment  than  perhaps  in  any  age  since  the  Apostles.  What  use  shall  we 
make  of  so  lofty  a position, — so  glorious  an  inheritance,  won  for  us  by  the  blood  of  mar- 
tyrs Shall  the  sons  of  the  men  who  died  for  the  truth  refuse  to  live  for  the  truth  ? 
Shall  the  children  of  Martyrs  feel  it  a hard  service  to  be  Propagandists  ? Shall  the  tree, 
sprung  from  “ the  least  of  all  seeds,”  but  watered  by  such  blood,  till  it  hath  unfolded  itself 
so  beautiful  and  glorious  in  its  majestic  proportions,  now  go  on  to  spread  its  gigantic  boughs 
for  the  shelter  of  hungry  and  weary  souls,  flocking  from  every  nation  under  heaven  ; or 
shall  its  life  begin  to  die  out,  and  it  be  rejected,  a withered  branch  ? He  alone,  with  whom 
is  the  residue  of  the  Spirit,  can  continue  to  supply  the  life.  But  He  hath  graciously 
pledged  Himself  in  covenant  to  communicate,  through  the  channel  of  the  prayers  of  His 
people,  the  ever-augmenting  supplies. 


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